


Don't Make me Say It

by walkingaftermidnightt



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Theyre both dumb, ana is sweet, but its incredibly sweet, i feel bad that i barely included poo, jeff is unhinged, ninten is baby, paula is a gamer, theyre all gen z, you can absolutely tell that theyre gen z
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 04:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20129278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkingaftermidnightt/pseuds/walkingaftermidnightt
Summary: Highschool fic where Ness falls in love with Lucas, after years of being friends. Written for my boyfriend, for his birthday! <3(alt title: unknown feelings)





	1. Freshman Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo! sorry if the formatting is weird. i wrote this in google docs, and i like to add a lot of new paragraphs for easy reading and flow. but anyways, heres an earthbound fic! not my usual content (my usual content is no new fics whatsoever), but it was fun to write for my boyfriend!

Ness looked around the cafeteria with his group. This was it. The big leagues. It mattered now. Whatever he did now, decided his destiny… his future. It would control all four years.

He needed to choose a table to sit with his friends during lunch.

“Opening on your left.” Jeff started. Ness snapped his head over with hawk-like reflexes, and briskly walked over to the empty table.

Out of nowhere, a group of boys claimed it. They didn’t notice Ness.

“Up there!” Paula said, pointing over to an empty table.

“Socket under it. I repeat, socket under it.” Jeff hurriedly said.

“Freak! We gotta hurry!” Ness exclaimed, borderline running across the cafeteria.

“Sweet sweet phone charging time…” Paula sighed dreamily.

People were looking at him weirdly, but he didn’t care. Those two sockets meant everything to him, and god damn it he was going to get them.

“Better hurry, Nestle crunch. Kids coming in on your three. Actually...” Jeff started.

No. _No._

“Fuck.” Jeff muttered.

The group let out a collective sigh as they watched a group of kids claim their table. Ness’ chance at the sockets crumbled like Spiderman in Infinity War, gone to the wind.

“Okay.” Ness sighed, “Okay, whatever. We’ve suffered a defeat. A big one. But this isn’t the end for us. This is the beginning, we’re not out of the running. Paula, you see anything from your birds eye view?”

Paula, the taller of the two, (by two centimeters,) squinted and looked around. “Nothing we can get to in time. Everything’s claimed.”

“_Freak.” _Ness muttered under his breath.

“Jeff, anything you can bring to the table?”

“C4, maybe. Under the table. We blow up the area, scare them up a little. They’ll leave, probably on fire, and we can swoop in.”

_“Like a vulture.” _Paula added. “I’m in. Hand me the ‘splosives, babey.”

“No!” Ness shouts, gaining a few looks. In a more hushed tone, he adds, “We are not blowing up the freaking school, dude.”

“Why not?” Jeff asks.

“I’m sick of this place.” Paula added. “No cute girls _anywhere. _You don’t understand how hard it is.”

“I have a better idea.” Ness said. “Why don’t we just eat on the stairs or something?”

Jeff stroked his chin. “Maybe. Simple plan. Costs me less money.”

“Whatever.” Paula said. “But you’re sitting closest to the side that has the garbage can.”

“Alright. Fine.” Ness said. “Maybe I’ll go dumpster diving. Go spelunking and find a burger.”

“Gross.” Paula said, rolling her eyes.

“I’d pay you five dollars to eat it.” Jeff said.

“Done!” Ness smiled, as he was planning on eating it anyway if he found it.

The three of them got in line for lunch, idly chatting about their first day, and how it was going so far.

“I don’t think my English teacher likes me that much.” Paula sighed.

“What? Why?” Ness asked.

“Because I was on my phone, and I accidentally turned my volume up all the way while I was on Tiktok.”

“Ness!” He heard a voice call through the line, which was more like a hungry mosh pit.

“You hear that?” Jeff asked.

“Yeah. Be right back.” Ness answered.

Ness walked out of line, trying to find where the sound came from. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, when he spotted him further back in line. He didn’t recognize the boy, but the boy definitely recognized him.

“Hey. Do I know you?” Ness asked.

“Don’t play dumb. It’s Ninten, you L 7 weenie! Your arch nemesis!” Ninten pushed through the crowd, and after a few awkward seconds he made his way over. He flexed his muscles, (it wasn’t very noticeable,) and grinned valiantly.

Ness laughed in his face. “I’m sorry dude, I really don’t recognize you. What did you call me? An L7 weenie?”

“Yeah! ‘Cuz you’re a square, chump! Get it? The corners of a square!” He cheered. Ninten seemed like he meant it in a taunting way, but it came out as more of a bark from an excited puppy. Ness found it slightly endearing. “As your arch nemesis, I tower over you! One day, I’m gonna getcha!”

“You’re standing on your tiptoes.” Ness deadpanned.

“Height isn’t a qualification for being a nemesis,” Ninten muttered, going back to his normal size.

“Well I’m not sure if you have any qualifications at all, seeing as I don’t know you.” Ness protested.

Ninten stopped at this, looking up with an expression of confusion. He visibly deflated, and for a split second Ness felt bad for not recognizing him. “Not at all?”

“Not one bit.”

“Well,” Ninten started, “Allow me to reintroduce myself and enlighten your memory! I’m Ninten. You and I were on seperate baseball teams in middle school!”

“Oh! That’s cool. Wait!” Ness exclaimed suddenly. “I _do _recognize you! You were that asthmatic kid from Podunk Middle who’s mom would bring snacks for us during games!”

“_No! _I mean, yes, but there's more than that!” Ninten huffed. “Don’t you remember? Onett vs Podunk. It was the seventh-inning stretch. Onett was in the lead, but Podunk was closing in. Nobody knew who was going to win!”

“I remember that game! But why get mad at me if Podunk won?”

“I’m not your nemesis over something so trivial. You’re not _listening!_ It was the seventh inning stretch. Break time. I was benched, but it was hot out, so I wanted to cool down. So, I head over to the concession stand to buy myself a Gatorade. But you were in line in front of me. And you got the last one!”

Neither one of them spoke for a moment. Ness blinked, looking down at him with an indiscernible expression. 

“That’s what you’re so mad about?”

“Yeah! What, do you expect me to drink water?!”

“Well I didn’t control how much Gatorade was stocked that day!”

“How do I know you’re not _lying, _nimrod!”

“Whatever.” Ness said. “Do you want me to just buy you a gatorade from the vending machine right now so you can stop being annoying?”

Ninten tilted his head. “You’d do that?”

Ness sighed. “They’re only like, a dollar, and if it’ll quench your bloodthirst for me then sure. Whatever.”

"Great! My mommy forgot to give me a dollar for a snack today anyways.” He bubbled.

Ness rolled his eyes, but smiled.

“Oh! Hey. Where are you sitting, by the way? If we’re going to become serious with the whole nemesis thing, I think I should introduce you to my crew.”

Ness looked over to the stairs, where Jeff and Paula were eating lunch. “Uh. With my friends.”

“But wait, you’re still going to be my nemesis even after I buy you a Gatorade?”

“Well yeah, dorkus maximus! I won’t be out of your hair just like that! You’re stuck with me.” Ninten said, sticking his tongue out and winking.

Ness chuckled. “Alright. Do you think me and my friends Paula and Jeff could sit with you? Do you have room at your table?”

“Oh, sure! We’ve got lots of room. We’re over there, we even got an outlet if you want to charge your phone or something.” He said, pointing.

Alright. It might as well go like this.

Ness waited in line, idly chatting with Ninten as they both got their lunch.

It didn’t look that appetizing. Cold pizza with green beans and a fruit cup, and water. He was probably going to only pick at it, and get a bag of chips from the vending machine later.

He paid, sat his tray on Ninten’s table, then went and got a gatorade. He grabbed Paula and Jeff, who were amazed at the fact that he had snagged a table, but were less amazed when they realized they had to share with strangers.

“Ness! Ness’s friends. Welcome to our little group! Let me introduce everyone.” Ninten smiled.

“This is Ana,” Ninten said, gesturing to a tall girl in the corner who smiled wide.

“Hullo! Pleasure to meet you three.”

“This is Lloyd. He’s my boyfriend!” Ninten grinned, beaming rays brighter than the sun. Oh, good. Brothers in arms.

“Hi…” Lloyd said, looking up and then looking away just as quick.

“Finally, this is Lucas and Claus. They’re brothers.”

“Yo.” Claus said. Lucas did a small wave, smiling.

“Well, I’m Ness.” He said, sitting down in the open seat beside Lucas. Jeff and Paula followed suit.

“Miners. Crafters. I’m Paula.”

“Roight. I’m Jeff.”

“Oh! Are you a transfer?” Ana asked, tilting her head.

“I was born here, what do you mean?” Jeff answered.

“He’s from Winters,” Paula sighed. “The accent can get worse when he gets pissed off.”

“That sounds like hell.” Claus added.

“It is.” Ness and Paula agreed in unison.

“Whatever. You all are shtewpid. It’s just an accent.” Jeff responded, forcing everyone at the table to hold in a laugh.

“So, uh. Ness.” Lucas piped up, getting his attention. “I like your shirt. It’s a Runaway Five shirt, yeah?”

“Oh, huh?” Ness said, looking down. “Yeah! It is. Dang, you like the Runaway Five? I’ve never met another fan.”

“Uh huh, they’re my second favorite band. My first is DCMC. Although, I’m kinda biased I guess.”

“How so?”

“The string base player is one of my closest friends.” Lucas admitted with a sheepish grin.

“No way! He’s super good.” Ness said, beaming. “You’re lucky. I’ve always wanted to go see DCMC.”

“Oh, maybe I can take you to see them sometime!”

“That. Would. Be. _Amazing._” Ness grinned. “Actually, I’ve met the Runaway Five before, so maybe I can return the favor!”

“Oh, gosh, really?” Lucas asked. “Don’t feel like you have to pay me back or anything.”

“Nonsense! It’s only fair. Besides, DCMC and the Runaway Five are underground. Not often I can share my music taste with someone!”

“Well then… that sounds awesome! I’m excited.” Lucas said, slightly blushing.

“I give it a few months.” Ana said.

“Come on. More than that. Six at _least._” Paula responded.

“You don’t have faith!” Ana said, with a smile.

Everybody turned to look at the two, confused as to what they were talking about. Jeff looked down, and noticed as well that they were holding hands.

“Did I miss something?” He asked.

“Oh. While you all were talking, we started dating.” Ana responded, leaning her head onto Paula and grinning ear to ear.

“That was fast.” Jeff said. “I’m happy for you. Allow me to give you a bottle rocket to show you both my love.”

“Hell yeah, dude. We’ll use it at our wedding.”

“On the Florida beach at sunset, wielding swords under a lavish overhang” They said in unison, breaking out into giggles.

The rest of the table shared a glance, confused yet happy for the two.


	2. Sophomore Year

Ness raised his hand.

“Yes, Ness?” Mrs. Smith asked.

“For this project, will we be able to choose our own partners?” “Sure.”

Kids started to look around, catching the eyes of their friends that they wanted to work with. Ness and Lucas saw each other, and nodded.

“You’ll all need to work outside of class, too. So please plan ahead!” Mrs Smith added. She dismissed them to start doing their own work, and Ness made his way over to Lucas’ desk.

“So…” Ness said, leaning his elbow on the table, “Did you have a partner in mind?” He asked, knowing full well that neither of them had any other people to partner with. “Because, like, I’m a hot item. People are lining up to partner with me. But if you _wanted, _I could ward them off and stick with you.” He joked.

“Okay, big shot, where are they then?” Lucas asked, with an amused half-smile.

“They’re uh… around.” Ness said, awkwardly smiling back.

“Sure they are.” Lucas huffed, rolling his eyes. “Just pull up a chair and plan this project with me.”

Ness did so, looking over their open notes. “It looks like we have most of the research done already. We’ll probably only need to focus on how we’re presenting it.” He noted.

“Mmm.” Lucas hummed. “Well, I don’t feel like spending money to put together a trifold board. But I do have a camera we could film something with.”

“Oh, that’s right! You do photography for the school newspaper, don’t you?” Ness asked.

“Yeah,” Lucas hummed, “I also do it in my spare time.”

“That’s really cool. Could I see some of your stuff sometime?”

“Oh, sure!” Lucas smiled. “Not many people are interested in my photos.”

“Weird.” Ness said, leaning back in his chair. “Your stuff for the newspaper is good. I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to see your personal stuff, especially since you probably have more freedom in it. It’s more you, right?”

“I suppose you could put it like that.”

“Well then, I want to see the real you.”

Lucas started to flush, feeling a bit sheepish from how nice Ness was being about it. “Well. Uh.” He started, hoping that his embarrassment wasn’t obvious. “Well, if we film outside of school, I can show you at my house. I have a scrapbook there.”

“Alright! How about we finish researching and planning the rest of this week, then we film at your house on Saturday and mine on Sunday?”

“Sounds fine to me.” Lucas said. Alright, it was set. Even though they had been friends for a year, they had never gone to each others houses. But Ness was his best friend, so why was he nervous, especially right now?

\---

“Hey Claus?” Asked Lucas.

“Hm?” “Can I borrow… uh...” Lucas started, followed by noises of fumbling paper. “Your wig?”

Claus paused his game, looking up at Lucas from his computer. “My wig? What do you need a wig for?”

“Well, me and Ness are filming something today and I forgot to buy one when I was getting supplies.

“Damn.” Claus said. “Got excited. Thought you were balding and showing your true troll form.”

“Okay, Mr. Junko Enoshima cosplayer. Can I just borrow it?” Lucas huffed.

“Nah, sorry. That thing took ages to style and I don’t want it ruined.”

Lucas huffed, standing there for a moment before putting on an innocent smile. “Please? I’ll give you 500 Robux.” He begged.

“Nope. Not my problem.” Claus finished, ending the debate and making Lucas’ fake smile drop. “When is he coming over anyways?”

As if on cue, Lucas heard a knock at the front door. He smiled, leaving Claus, who rolled his eyes once Lucas turned away. He straightened his back , and opened the door. Instead of greeting him like a normal person, Ness decided to be himself. Before Lucas could even say ‘hello’, Ness grabbed a foam sword from the bag of props he had with him. The tip of the sword tapped his chest. “Boom. You’re dead.”

Lucas looked down to his chest, then back up at Ness. “I’m hurt.” He said, with no emotion.

“Well I would hope so.” Ness said. “You’re literally impaled with a sword.”

“F.” Lucas quipped. “Anyways, come on in. Have you had lunch yet? I could cook you something before we get to work.” He motioned for Ness to come inside, and they both sat on the living room couch.

Ness seemed completely comfortable, taking off his shoes and crossing his legs. “Eh, you don’t have to go through the trouble. Plus, there’s something else I want to do first, before we work.”

“Mm?” Lucas hummed, ears turning red without him knowing why.

“Your photos!” He smiled. “I wanna see ‘em. You said I could, remember?”

“Yeah.” Lucas sighed. “Alright, then.” He smiled, and motioned for Ness to follow him to his room.

Ness looked around. Lucas’ bedroom had light blue walls, and a brown hardwood floor. He had a few framed photos on the walls, and one signed DCMC poster. On his desk sat a computer, and a single succulent. His bed was well made, and the room was very tidy. His curtains were drawn, filling the room with natural light.

Overall, Ness thought, this room was the opposite of his. But it showed off a tiny part of Lucas, and he liked that about it.

“Sorry for the mess,” Lucas said, looking at the folded pile of laundry on his bed. Ness rolled his eyes when he wasn’t looking. “It should be in this drawer… right here.” Lucas handed him a tiny leather book.

Lucas anxiously watched his face, as he flipped through the pages. Ness handled it like a baby bird, carefully flipping the pages and touching the layers of scrapbook paper as if it might shatter in his hands.

He was… talented, to say the least. Ness smiled fondly once he got to a page that had printed selfies taken at both the DCMC and Runaway Five concerts they had gone to last year. Lucas had decorated the page with newspaper clippings telling about the shows, and random stickers that fit the colour pallete. Ness looked up at him, still smiling, and tilted his head. Lucas felt his heart jump and his ears turn red.

“This is really nice, Lucas.” Ness admitted. “Those two nights were really fun. I really like hanging out with you.”

“I… like hanging out with you too.” Lucas said, not meeting him in the eye, nervous out of seemingly nowhere.

“You do know that you’re probably my best friend, right?” Ness admitted, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I like Jeff and Paula and Poo, but they can get kind of tiring, you know? Around you I can be myself.”

Lucas opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t form the words. He shut his mouth. He knew his face must be extremely red. Even Ness was slightly blushing… Where did all that emotion suddenly come from?

“Sorry. Awkward. Those photos just made me sentimental, I guess.” Ness shrugged, with a huff of a laugh. Just like that, Ness was back to himself.

Lucas felt like he would have to dunk himself in a bath full of ice to get back to normal.

“Well! That’s neat.” Ness smiled. “Let’s start working, though.”

Lucas, still hot to the touch, led him out back. They shot a few scenes. It was slow work, because they kept getting distracted, but they got a few good scenes.

“Oh, shoot. My mom’s on her way. We’ll finish this all up and edit it tomorrow at my place, right?”

“Ah, okay!” Lucas smiled.

“I was having fun hanging out with you, though. We should chill more often after school!”

“Yeah. I think we should.”

\---

“Ness! Your friend is here!” Ness’ mom shouted from downstairs, waking him up. Ness yawned, opening his eyes. Wait, what? Shit!

Hurriedly, still half asleep, Ness threw on some gym shorts and a t-shirt. He dashed down the stairs, nearly tripping over himself. Lucas smiled sweetly at him from the couch, while Ness’ mother sat in the armchair next to it.

“What time is it?” Ness asked groggily.

“It’s only twelve, Ness. Did you sleep in?” Lucas asked, tilting his head.

He huffed a laugh in response. “Must have. Sorry, I was up late last night.”

“What were you doing?”

“I was… uh. Making love to multiple women.”

“Ness! Don’t be crude!” His mother shouted.

“Fine! I was playing Uno online.” He admitted. “But I won! And that’s what's important! You should be proud of me!”

“I’ll be proud of you once you do the dishes and laundry.” His mother said, unimpressed.

“Sorry, what was that? Anyways, Lucas, why don’t we go up to my room?” Ness smiled, dashing up before his mom could get him to do chores. Lucas walked over and followed him, giving a shy wave goodbye to his mother before he did so.

Ness’ walls were completely plastered in different posters, magazine clippings, drawings, and comic pages. He had string lights hanging from his ceiling, and a bottle collection on his windowsill. His mirror had writing on it, mainly reminders and signatures from his friends. It was cluttered, but in a very pretty way. Lucas felt like Ness probably loved everything in this room.

“Before we get started, I’ll give you the tour!” He said, with a wink. “First stop is my mirror! Here, take a marker and sign your name.” Ness grabbed a cup full of multicolored markers, and held it out to him.

“You write on your mirror?”

“Well sure! Here’s a secret.” He said, leaning into Lucas and getting close to his ear. “If anyone who signs it gets famous, I can sell it and get rich.”

Lucas snorted. “Well, I don’t think I will. But I’ll sign it for you anyways.” He grabbed a blue marker, and signed his name neatly in cursive, next to Jeff.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Ness said. “Your photography could become huge. It’s good enough. Oh! That reminds me. I have something for you.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Second stop on my room tour.” Ness said, opening a drawer. He pulled out a small cardboard box, and handed it to Lucas, barely hiding his excitement with his cool facade.

“I figured you could use these in your scrapbook. I picked them myself! Usually, I just give them to Paula, since she makes resin jewelry. But I like to keep them around the room, too.”

Lucas opened the box. Inside were a pile of pressed flowers, of every colour. They were beautiful, and the fact that Ness thought to give him these was… incredibly thoughtful.

He looked up to Ness, and smiled. “Thank you, Ness. I’ll try to save some for a page centered around you if I get more photos of you and I.”

Ness seemed really happy. Lucas liked it when he was happy. Ness deserved payback for all of the joy he had given Lucas. Ness was kind, and funny, and sweet, and genuine all wrapped into one. He was just so sincere, that if he told Lucas that he would bring him the stars, Lucas would believe him.

And the way he grinned made Lucas feel like Ness was actually filled with pure sunshine. He looked rough around the edges, scruffy in a cute way that Lucas could only describe as Ness being Ness. His edges are what made him. If Ness didn’t press flowers, or enjoy Lucas’ scrapbooking, or play uno late at night, or make smooth jokes, he would be someone else entirely. So Lucas was thanking the stars that Ness was by his side.

Now those were some dangerous thoughts.

“You know, Ness, I never did say what I thought yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

“You talking about how I was your best friend. I never did say that you’re mine, too.”

“Oh. Don’t feel too bad. I know already!”

“Yes, but one should say it.” Lucas sighed. “Ness, you make me very happy. I don’t think I could ask for a better friend. I like everything about you. You’re just so… genuine. And kind. So, thank you for being you.”

For the amount of times that Lucas had been red-face for the past few days, it felt good in a devious way to see Ness blushing too.

“Well. That was nice. I’m glad you liked the gift. And I’m glad you’re my friend. That was the most heartfelt thing anyone has ever said to me…” Ness admitted.

Lucas knew what he was feeling. But it didn’t need to be said.

“Damn. Well. Okay. That threw me for a loop. But let's get back on track. To conclude the tour, uh, there’s my computer, my bean bag chairs, my bed, and my guitar.”

“Oh! You play?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah! I can maybe play for you some other time. I get kinda nervous.” He smiled awkwardly.

“Alright. I look forward to it. Let’s get to work, then.”

\---

Lucas sighed, walking straight into the living room and plopping himself face down onto the couch. He laid there for a few moments, before Claus came out of his room and looked at him.

“What’s your problem?” He asked.

“I fell in love.” Lucas responded, muffled by the couch.

Claus sighed. “I can’t believe dad raised us both gay. Must be our genes or something.”

“Maybe so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont know what claus is on about in this but id absolutely let lucas snatch my wig


	3. Junior Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prom sceeeeene!! by far my favorite chapter. ness is incredibly ness here.

Ness wasn’t sure he understood the point of prom. It wasn’t his style. He wouldn’t spend over a hundred dollars to rent a suit for _one _night, just to go alone and third wheel all of his friends in a relationship.

In fact, at this point, every single one of his friends were taken. Jeff had Tony, Paula had Ana, Ninten had Lloyd. Even Poo had found a boyfriend of his own! Ness seemed to be the only one who was single.

Besides Lucas, of course.

Ness flopped onto his bed, sighing. After lying there for a moment, he got out his phone to text Lucas.

_‘everyone keeps talking about prom.’_ He sent. _‘do you plan on going?’_

_‘Probaby :)!’_ Lucas responded, _‘But I’ll be going alone. :(‘_

Well that was no good, Ness thought. Going to prom alone would probably be more boring and hassling than staying home alone.

_‘you don’t have any friends to hang out with there?’ _Ness texted back.

_‘Yeah, I do! Ninten, Lloyd, Paula and Ana are going, but I’ll probably be left out cuz they’re couples. But I still think I’ll have fun!’_

“Mmm.” Ness hummed to himself. He felt sort of bad for him. Of course he would have fun, but it would still probably suck going alone.

Of course, Ness would be happy to go with him. That would at least make the night tolerable. It was a lot easier to deal with gross, sappy, romantic couples when you had your best friend beside you to crack jokes and dance horribly with.

In the back of his mind, Ness realized that if any of his other friends had mentioned it, he probably wouldn’t go with him. But he didn’t acknowledge that Lucas was a special case to him.

_‘if you wanted, we could go as friends. we could have fun together!_’ Ness sent. He anxiously watched as Lucas typed back a response.

_‘Oh, sure! If you want! I’d love to! Also, do you want to call me so we can talk about it?’_ Lucas replied. Ness smiled in relief, not even sure why he was so anxious about him saying yes. They weren’t a couple, it wasn’t like it was the end of the world if he said no. He must be having a mood swing or something.

Ness started a call, being met with Lucas’ face. He was grinning, and wearing a fluffy grey sweater. “Hey!” He chirped. “It’s really cool that you’re gonna go with me. To be honest, I wanted to ask you, but I was kinda nervous. Weird, right?”

“Heh, yeah.” Ness said, running his hand through his hair. “No need to be. I was planning on going anyways, so we probably would have ran into each other there.” He lied.

“Ah. Well my dad agreed to let me rent this super cool tux. I’m gonna look handsome as hell. The chicks are gonna eat me up!” Lucas grinned playfully, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Heh. I’m gonna have to pry them off with a stick just to get to you, huh?” Ness said. For some reason, the mental image of Lucas getting with a girl at the prom made his stomach churn.

“Maybe. Unless they flock to you instead. Bet you could one up me and look even better if you wanted.”

“Ew!” Ness laughed, “Girls are gross. You know…” He said, leaning into the camera as if he was whispering to him “They say… that girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider.”

“That’s boys!” Lucas shouted back.

“Well whatever! They have cooties anyways!” Ness argued back.

“What are you, five?” Lucas laughed.

“No, just gay.” 

“Oh, cool. Anyways, here’s a screenshot of the tux that I was talking about.”

Lucas sent him a screenshot of a midnight blue tuxedo, with a yellow tie. The suit seemed to be slightly shimmery. Ness imagined Lucas showing up to prom in that suit, and felt his cheeks redden.

“Damn, that’s nice. We really are gonna be the two hottest ones there, huh?”

“Power friendship!”

“Power friendship.”

Ness must be coming down with something. He was nervous, and his face was hot… He really didn’t know what was wrong. He just hoped it would go away before prom.

\---

“Do you think he’ll be here soon?” Ness asked Paula. He was unintentionally grinning ear to ear as he waited for his best friend to walk through the doors.

“He said he was on his way.” Paula told him. “What, you miss your boyfriend already? Gross.”

Ness’ face reddened, as he crossed his arms. “We aren’t dating! I don’t like Lucas!” He shouted.

_“Oh my God.”_ Paula said under her breath. “Whatever dude, keep saying that if it helps you sleep at night.”

“Shut up! I don’t like him!” He denied, overly defensive for no reason whatsoever. “Whatever. I’m gonna go get some punch. Have fun being a loser while I’m in line or whatever!”

As Ness stomped over to the punch line, Paula turned to Ana and sighed.

“This is taking fucking forever.” Paula groaned. “They’re going to prom together. And they are _still _taking their time. Do they even know how excruciating it is?!”

“Damn. And I thought that it would take a few months.” Ana added.

“It has been three years. Three. Years. I’m sick of this shit. He looks like a lovesick puppy. It’s gross. Man up and get married already, you know?”

Meanwhile, Ness fidgeted in the punch line. He knew he was overreacting. He didn’t know why it got to him that much, though. It was only a joke. Of course Lucas and Ness were close. They were best friends. But they weren’t dating. He’d never date Lucas! Even if he was easy to talk to and cute. They were _friends. _What about that did Paula not get?

Sighing, Ness got his punch, and sat back down with the group. Ninten and Lloyd were out dancing, and Paula and Ana were having their own conversation. Idly, Ness watched the doors, tapping his fingers on the table in anticipation. He felt like he could die waiting, having to deal with all of these couples alone. Even Paula and Ana’s voices were grinding on his ears without having Lucas to deal with it.

But then, he walked in.

The suit was fitting on him. It made his shoulders look slightly broader, and made his eyes pop. The slight sparkle of it in this lighting was alluring, making him mystifying to Ness. He looked incredibly handsome. Ness was going to lose his mind.

Lucas shyly looked around the place, scanning over it until he saw Ness. His face was tinted crimson, and Ness felt unable to move as Lucas gave him a wide smile, walking over.

It was worse when he was moving. At least when he was still, it was like observing a piece of art. Now he had to actually deal with it being real.

Why the hell was Ness checking out Lucas like this? It was only a suit.

“Hey! Am I late?” Lucas asked, sitting next to Ness at their table.

“No. We just got here a bit early.” Ana responded.

“Oh, lovely.” Lucas responded, still smiling.

“You might want to wait for a few minutes before you dance with Ness or anything.” Paula said. “He needs some cool down time.” She snickered, making Ana elbow her to get her to stop.

“What do you mean?” He asked, then tilted his head at Ness.

“Uh…” Ness started, “Uh. They don’t mean anything. You look really nice, Lucas.”

“Oh! Thank you.” Lucas chirped, ears reddening. “I’m glad you think so.”

_“Like, really nice.”_ Ness muttered under his breath. “So, were you planning to dance?”

“Maybe! After things die down I definitely will. I might want to slow dance, even.”

“I’ll do that with you!” Ness said, mentally kicking himself for sounding so desperate.

“That would… be lovely.” Lucas grinned awkwardly.

“Kill me.” Paula mumbled.

“Darling, why don’t we go dance?” Ana asked.

“Eh, I don’t really-” Paula started to respond, before being nudged by Ana. They seemed to eye each other, speaking without speaking, before Paula got up. “That would be lovely.”

And just like that, Ness and Lucas were alone.

“You look lovely, Ness.” Lucas admitted, sheepishly. “Black suits you.”

Ness avoided his eyes. “Thank you, Lucas. I’m glad you think so.”

The two were silent for a second, seemingly forever. Lucas fidgeted with his fingers, as they had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world. Ness bounced his leg, anxious for absolutely no reason.

“Ness?” Lucas said, perking up. He was blushing.

“Yes?” “Can I ask you something?”

“_Anything._” Ness responded, mentally kicking himself again.

“Why…” Lucas started, “Why aren’t you dating anyone? You seem, for a lack of better words, like a… cool guy. You’re popular, anyways.”

Ness blanked, then let out a snort. “Lucas, I’m not popular. And I don’t know… I just haven’t really… ‘clicked’ with anyone like that.” He admitted, frowning. “Why aren’t _you _dating anyone?”

“Ah.” He started, not meeting his eyes. “Well. I do have my eyes on someone, already.” He sounded sad, and distant.

Ness felt his heart drop. “Oh? Who? I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Lucas laughed miserably. “Well, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think he’ll ever like me back.”

Ness felt bad about asking. Lucas looked heartbroken, thinking about his crush. Ness wanted to give them a piece of his mind, even though he knew it wasn’t their fault. He didn’t even know who it was, anyway.

This was supposed to be a happy night. Ness had screwed that up. It was early in the night, though, so he still had a chance to fix it.

“Hey, man. Look at me.” Ness said, getting his attention. “Did you know I can twitch my ears?”

“What?”

“Yeah, look.” Ness said, getting Lucas to pay attention as he did it. He got a tiny laugh out of him.

“Cool, dude.”

“Thanks.” Ness smiled. “You looked really sad. You’re a good person, Lucas. If that dude doesn't like you, he’s missing out. You’ll find someone really good, one day. You deserve it.” Ness said, face scarlet.

_“Thanks, Ness.”_ Lucas mumbled.

Ness nodded, and sat there for a second. “You know what? Why don’t we go dance? I bet you ten dollars I can have you smiling after one dance.”

“I don’t have any money on me.” Lucas sighed, with a small grin.

“See! We haven’t even danced yet, and I’m winning.” Ness laughed.

“You are not.” Lucas responded, holding back a smile.

“Then what is that, you liar?!” Ness asked, softly grabbing the side of his face and inspecting it. “Mouth tilted upwards, I see.” He grinned, making Lucas burst into laughter. Ness felt his heart flutter at that.

“Fine, fine. But I’m not giving you ten dollars.” Lucas said, flushed cheeks and a wobbly smile as he stood up.

“As long as you know I was right, the joy of winning is enough.” Ness responded, getting up with him and following him out to the dance floor.

Highschoolers do not know how to dance. This was very obvious, as Ness approached the dance floor. He had been to dances before, although he usually spent it chatting with Paula, Poo, and Jeff, who had to drag him there. If he was feeling a little excited he might drag out one of them to dance to the Cupid Shuffle with him, but that was once in a while.

Lucas couldn’t either. He liked to go to school dances for the experience of it all, rather than actually dancing. Once Kumatora graduated, he spent dances with his brother, until Claus got a boyfriend and spent time dancing with him.

This is all simply pretty wording leading up to a main point.

Ness only knew how to default dance. Lucas couldn’t dance _at all._

However, they both forgot this fact until they got up to the dance floor. An upbeat pop song was playing, kids moving to the beat around them. They looked at each other awkwardly, not moving. Lucas scratched the back of his neck, and Ness laughed.

“Well. Do you want me to teach you how to default dance?” Ness asked, giggling.

“Like, in Fortnite? Sure. I guess.” Lucas said back.

“Right. So it kinda goes like this…” Ness said, demonstrating. Lucas laughed when he was done.

“That looks kind of complicated. I probably won’t do it right.”

“Worth a shot though, right?”

“I guess.”

Ness got through half of the instructing, before the song died down. The next song was a slow song. Couples around them dialed back on the excited and jumpy atmosphere, and started to slow dance with each other.

Ness and Lucas looked at each other for a moment, and embarrassed, looked away.

“Well,” Lucas started, “I suppose since we’re already here…”

“Yes.” Ness said, extending his hand. “We probably should. Wouldn’t hurt.”

Now, they really did _not _need to dim the lights. That was just cruel. Ness couldn’t keep his eyes off of Lucas already, but to dim the lights was just them _asking _for him to stare at his pretty face in the pink lighting.

The two started dancing, careful not to step over each other or bump into anyone else.

Ness was in deep shit. He had to look like he had it together.

“You know, you look really good in pink lighting.” Ness admitted.

“I could say the same to you.” Lucas shot back. “You should see yourself.”

This was not a game. Ness was very glad that the lighting was pink, and he was hoping it was camouflaging his blush.

“You’re too kind.” Ness said, hoping his inflection didn't show how embarrassed he felt.

“Maybe so. Is that a problem?” Lucas asked, tilting his head worriedly.

Crap. He could definitely tell something was wrong.

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.” Ness spluttered, feeling the heat in his cheeks.

Lucas was quiet for a moment, lost in thought.

“You’ve been acting rather strange tonight.” Lucas spoke up, after a moment.

“Have I? Sorry.”

“Almost like you’re embarrassed. Are you embarrassed of me?”

“What?! No!”

“Then what are you so afraid of?” Lucas asked. He reached his hand up, holding the side of Ness’ face. He felt five seconds from dying. Ness knew what was wrong, but there was no way in hell he was going to admit it.

“Earlier, you mentioned liking someone.” Ness blurted. “Who… who was it?”

“I think you know.” Lucas said, looking down and removing his hand.

“Do I?”

“Don’t make me say it.” Lucas said, looking him dead in the eye. “Please.”

“Lucas…” Ness said. He took Lucas’ hand, which had been on his shoulder, into his own. “Of course. It doesn’t need saying.”

“But there is one thing. That I do need to ask very badly right now.” Lucas said, smiling.

“Of course. Anything.” Ness responded.

“Can I kiss you?” Lucas asked. Ness almost melted into the floor. “_Please.”_

Ness let out a tiny laugh. “Of course.” He said, leaning in. _“Anything.”_

The world stopped moving, waiting for the two of them. The kiss was awkward, but incredibly sweet, and meant the world to both of them. Ness was the happiest he had been in his life, and he knew Lucas felt the same.

They both pulled away, holding tightly onto each other.

“I’m sorry…” Ness started, “I’m sorry that took me so long.”

“It’s okay.” Lucas smiled, looking into his eyes with all of the love he had gained that year. “I’ll always be waiting for you.”

“Even if I have a rock in my shoe and I have to get it out?” Ness asked.

“No. Then I’ll just leave you there.”

“Really?” Ness asked, pouting.

“No. Idiot. I’ll wait for you then.” Lucas laughed, hugging him close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ness default dancing... effervescent


	4. Senior Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the thrilling conk clusion...

Ness had to think, and fast.

Valentines day was coming up. He couldn’t escape it, walking down store aisles and having his face shoved in candies and chocolates that were extremely overpriced. He knew he shouldn’t stress. Lucas would just be happy to spend time with him, and Ness was okay with that as well. But he wanted it to be special. Lucas was his favorite person in the whole world, and he really wanted to show him that.

He sighed. Balloons were out of the question. They’d deflate after a few days, anyways. He never really understood why men would get huge balloons for their girlfriends; they were essentially gifting them a huge annoyance that they’d have to have following them all day. Plus, it seemed like they were compensating.

Flowers might be a better option. He could get him a bouquet of roses, maybe! But… That was the easy route. It wasn’t personal enough.

Christ, he was making this too complicated.

That day, at lunch, Ness decided to ask for help.

“Oi. What’s up?” Jeff asked, being pulled to the side.

“I need your advice.” Ness sighed, frowning. “You’ve been dating Tony longer than I’ve been dating Lucas, so I thought you might know. What do guys like?”

Jeff raised his eyebrows. “My idea of romantic probably won’t match yours, Ness.”

“Anything helps. I’m drawing so many blanks, and I don’t have much time left until Valentine's Day.” He pleaded. He wasn’t leaving Jeff alone without an answer.

“Well… In my experience, guys like lethal weapons. You could get him an untraceable gun! Those are always unique.”

Ness gave him a blank stare, blinking at him. “Where am I supposed to get an untraceable gun?”

“Well, I know Paula used to sell them! You could ask her.” Jeff grinned.

“I used to sell what?” Paula asked from behind them, making Ness jump out of his skin. Jeff was unfazed.

“Jesus, Paula, give a guy a warning.” Ness muttered.

“Ness was asking about a gift for Lucas for Valentines day, and I was telling him about your untraceable guns.” Jeff said, catching her up.

“Huh. Is Lucas really that type of guy?” Paula asked, smiling. “He’s been holding out on me.”

“No! Of course not.” Ness asked. “Whatever, I’ll figure it out. But thanks for your help, Jeff.” Ness sighed, going back to sit at the lunch table.

Paula grabbed his shoulder before he could leave. “Wait,” She said, getting Ness to turn around. 

“Ness, I know you want to be thoughtful, right?” She asked, getting a nod from him. “Well, you could just write down what you think about him. You never shut up about him, so I’m sure you have a lot to say.”

Ness’ eyes widened. She was absolutely right. He could even go further than that… Yes! He knew exactly what to do.

“You’re a genius.”

“I know.”

\---

“I can’t get him just _anything!_” Lucas sighed, flopping onto his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Kumatora watched him from his desk chair, patiently listening to him rant.

“I mean, how do you get something for the dream man who deserves everything?” Lucas said, turning his head towards her with a dreamy sparkle in his eyes. Kumatora snorted, rolling her eyes.

“You’re being too dramatic. It’s Ness. If you just get him chocolates he’ll say he loves you, and you’ll both cry over how much you love each other.” She said with a slight smile.

“But what if I get him something wrong and he hates me forever?” Lucas frowned.

“Come on. You know that’s not going to happen.”

He sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. I just want to show him how much I love him. And I have no idea what he might want!”

Kumatora hummed in thought. “Teens like Juuling now, right?” Kumatora asked. “Get a Juul. Paint it all pretty. Give it to him. Boom, he marries you on the spot.”

Lucas shot her a questioning look. “Ness doesn’t Juul.”

“Oh, I got nothing then.”

Lucas groaned, turning around and pressing his face into the bed. “Why does this have to be so hard?” He asked, muffled.

Kumatora shrugged, though Lucas wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Wait.” She said, suddenly. “Earlier. You said you want to show him how much you love him.”

“Yeah?” Lucas said, getting up and sitting normally on the bed.

“You want to _show _him. Lucas. You can just do that. You can just _show _him how much you love him. Do you get what I’m hinting at?”

Lucas looked at her, confused, before he slowly started to understand. “Oh! You’re right!”

\---

Lucas was grinning ear to ear as soon as eighth period ended. They had decided to exchange gifts after school due to Ness insisting, which only made Lucas more curious about what Ness had gotten him. Lucas was really proud of what he had for Ness, and couldn’t wait to see the look on his face as he handed it to him. Kumatora had even helped him, choosing over colour options that Lucas was being meticulous about.

He practically ran to where he and Ness met up after school, and saw him a few feet away. Ness had been talking with Jeff, until Lucas caught his eyes and he started to make his way over.

“Hi!” Lucas grinned, practically shoving a wrapped gift into his hands.

Ness looked at him, smiling. “Someone’s excited, huh?” He asked, while starting to unwrap it.

“Well I’m really proud! I think you’re gonna like what I made for you.”

Ness threw away the last of the wrapping, taking out a tiny bound book. The cover had heart stickers covering it, and in the middle was a photo of the two of them together.

Ness smiled to himself, opening it. Lucas watched him, seemingly amused. The book was a tiny scrapbook of the two of them over their entire highschool years together. Dates and places were marked, along with handwritten messages from Lucas proclaiming his love and how happy he was to be with him. It was decorated beautifully, and Ness recognized some of the pressed flowers lining the pages.

“Lucas…” He started, amazed at how detailed and precious the book was. He almost felt like he had his heart in the palm of his hands. “This is… Jesus. Are those the flowers I gave you two years ago?”

“Yeah!” Lucas bubbled, “It didn’t feel right using them. But I figured this was an occasion special enough. So you like it?”

“...I love it.” He said, shutting the book carefully. “More importantly, I love you. This is the most heartfelt thing anyone has ever done for me, or given to me.”

“Oh! Well it’s nothing, really.” Lucas said, scratching the back of his neck. “I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me. You are… The most important person in my life.”

“God, you’re gonna make my heart burst.” Ness chuckled. “Almost makes me feel nervous about what I have for you.”

“Oh, don’t be! I love you, and I’ll love whatever you give me.”

“Well, I hope so.” Ness laughed nervously. He looked to his side, away from Lucas, and at Jeff. “Hey! Can I have my guitar, now?” Ness asked. Jeff came over, followed by Paula.

“Good luck. Let me know if you still need a gun.” Jeff nodded, handing over his guitar. Paula winked at him, sitting a short distance away, trying to listen in.

Lucas tilted his head at him, smiling. “Ness… You’re going to sing a song for me?” Lucas asked. “That’s incredibly sweet…”

“Kind of.” Ness grinned. “I _wrote_ a song. Special for you.”

Some people had decided to watch him, patiently waiting for him to start. Nervous, Ness exhaled, and pulled his guitar pick out of his pocket. He started to strum the intro chords, before starting to sing:

_“a piece of the sun_

_dolled up with a smile_

_you make me want to run into your arms and stay a while_

_my heart beats fast_

_my face goes red_

_I tell you I love you but still so much is unsaid_

_there's no way to describe what you do to me_

_your laugh is like a symphony_

_If you saw through my eyes you'd be able to see_

_and know what you mean to me_

_through the years i hope you'll stay_

_but id be fine with just one more day_

_because your smile will last me for years_

_and help me through my life's frontier”_

Ness huffed out a breath once he finished, glad to finally have it done and out there. He wasn’t the best when it came to expressing love, but he thought through writing he could express his feelings better. The students that had stayed back and listened to him clapped, and then left for the day.

Ness caught Lucas’ eyes to see him holding back tears. _Crap._

“Oh, Lucas, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry, I thought you’d like it-” Ness started setting his guitar on a table. Lucas ran up to him and hugged him tightly, before he could continue, or before he actually started crying.

“What are you rambling on about?” Lucas asked, into his chest, not letting go of him. “That was incredible. That was _lovely.” _He smiled, letting go to look at him. He pulled him in, and gave him a kiss.

“I love you. A whole lot.” Ness said.

“Well, I can tell!” Lucas laughed, making Ness smile. “That was… Filled with love. It makes me so happy to know that you love me that much.”

Ness chuckled. Of course he loved Lucas a lot. He was his whole world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i wrote that song myself, yes it was aimed towards my boyfriend because i know he's going to read it, we exist. also they are both so sweet.
> 
> thank you for reading!! this was really fun to write, and i hope you enjoyed! if you want to bug me about it outside of a comment, you can talk to me on my instagram or tumblr, both of which are under walkingaftermidnightt. cheers!


End file.
